December 24, 2012

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It's Christmas Eve, and I'm in the office frantically trying to make sure that all the ducks are lined up. We're just short of our scheduled launch and a few of the documents are not 100% finalized. Trying to schedule 2 board meetings over Christmas also isn't the easiest thing, and thankfully people have been very accommodating.

So 7pm rolls around, and I finally get to leave the office and head to dinner. My adopted family has kindly taken me in for the night, so I joined Mr. and Mrs. Tigger and their friends at the Dining Room of the Aberdeen Marina Club. I was the last to arrive, but fortunately I was still on time.

Unfortunately I received a distressing email just as I stepped out of the taxi, and something went a little awry with the chain of events which I thought were on schedule. I tried to contact my external counsel for a simple fix, but the person was MIA. I guess I would have to try to fix it during dinner…

Dinner tonight was a 5-course set menu - not surprising given the occasion. There were 3 choices for each course, which was actually pretty good.

Goats curd filled beetroot ravioli, asparagus tips, white truffle dressing, micro herbs salad - the "ravioli" were basically round slices of beetroot. I guess the "goats curd" was just the little dollop on top, and whatever was placed on the plate with a squeeze bottle. A little disappointing.

Lobster agnolotti, lobster essence - flavors were not bad, but the lobster was definitely overcooked. Nice use of chervil to pick things up a little.

Roast rack of Welsh lamb, savoy cabbage parcels, roasted pearl onions, roasted garlic jus - not bad. The exterior was a little more browned than I expected, but the centers were still pink and tender. Definitely nice and smoky on the outside. The bed of savoy cabbage and roasted pearl onions beneath the lamb, though, was the real star. Very sweet and delicious.

I had been a party-pooper throughout dinner, fidgeting with my two iPhones in my attempt to forward 2 email messages with lots of legal documents attached. Unfortunately I was only able to forward 1 message from my phone, as the other message simply had too many big attachments. After 1½ hours of trying, I decided it was time to get in front of a computer and just get it over with, as it would take only about 15 seconds. I apologized to my fellow diners, grabbed my stuff and quickly hopped into a taxi…

This wasn't a big drinking crowd, so there were only 2 bottles of wine...

1998 Trimbach Riesling Clos Sainte Hune - I brought this along since the Tiggers seem to enjoy Riesling. Classic nose of petrol, mineral, flint along with some acetone. Ripe on the nose but still reasonably dry on palate.

P.S. Wouldn't you just know it… The minute I stepped foot in my office, I got an email from my external counsel saying that the email would be forwarded. So I didn't need to cut short my dinner and come back after all. Aaarrrgghhh!!!